Bounce T.V. Inferior To It’s Competition?

Recently launched black television network, Bounce TV, is being criticized for it’s lack of original programming and creativity.

The Root writer Charles E. Cobb Jr. calls the Atlanta-based network “uninteresting,” and adds that it doesn’t offer a unique experience to viewers who are familiar with TV One or BET.

I note this with disappointment, but what was striking about the debut of Bounce Television, and what remains true almost two months after its launch, is its total lack of creativity. Like BET and TV One — although both established networks produce far more original shows than Bounce — it has opted for the easy route. And while that makes a certain kind of business sense, it is hardly TV the way we want it. It is, instead, TV the way it has always been, albeit in blackface.

TV One was established in direct reaction to what were considered the negative stereotypes of black people on BET. Like its predecessor, TV One has ramped up the original programming recently, with series such as Unsung, which highlights entertainers who haven’t received a lot of recognition. It also offers old black series, some of which really are “classics.” Among them: Living Single, A Different World, The Jeffersons and Good Times.